Nothing innocent about white coat hypertension

White coat hypertension may be an early indicator of cardiovascular disease, according to research showing that people whose blood pressure rises in a clinic have similar structural abnormalities to those with persistent hypertension.

Although the jury is still out on what action to take to protect these patients, pressure is mounting for the medical profession to take the phenomenon of white coat hypertension more seriously.

The research, reported in the Lancet (1996;348:654-7) was carried out by a team from the Western Infirmary in Glasgow as part of a trial looking at …